Monday, 21 September 2015

2015 CWU & AC Mystery CAL Joining the Centre 6 Squares

Once you have your six centre squares made, arrange them in a group of 2 x 3

as in the following diagram - this creates the middle of the blanket which we will be working around.

For this CAL, we are just going to join these with a simple whip stitch.

Place two squares together, Right Sides facing each other, and place a stitch marker in the corner stitches to line them up. Sometimes when different people create patterns you may have squares with an uneven number of stitches. In most CALs, the designers will ensure that this is never more than 1 or at most 2 extra sts on any one side to make it easier to work them in neatly. Just do the best you can to keep them as even as possible, while all the time making sure those corner sts always match up.

Step 1: The Markers are placed at the very corner sts.

Step 2: I have used bright yellow yarn for this just so that you can see it better - you will be using a matching yarn to the squares you are joining. Thread your yarn through the very corner sts, using only the outer loops on both sides. No need to knot it, we will anchor it in moment by threading the yarn through the same two stitches again.

Step 3: Now that your yarn is anchored, you need to carry on inserting the needle from one side to the other, using only the outer loops, as before, all along the side of the squares.

Step 4: Now that we have come to the other end, the main things to remember are, keep the stitches even and neat, and make sure those corners meet perfectly.

Step 5: Slip that end stitch through once more in the same space to make sure the corner is nice and secure. Then you can go ahead and start adding more sides in the same manner.

Here’s what the right side looks like when you are done:

You can see the yellow sts evenly spaced showing through from the back. You will, of course, be using a matching yarn for this, so that the colour difference is not so obvious. But you will also see that we have created a nice even joining seam.

Now carry on with the rest of the squares and we will continue on after that is complete!